Sales funnel

Visual framework that illustrates the sales process in every stage and helps marketing and sales managers in measuring opportunities and planning various campaigns. If the Sales funnel is properly set up according the specifics of a business and the right metrics, its model would successfully provide structured reports and distinguish between monotonous data.

See also: Research and development, Audience profile, Benefit segmentation

Continuous pattern (Continuous scheduling)

The type of a pattern that is applied by media planners whereby ad messages are placed at regular intervals and persistent series over some period of time.

 See also: Flighting, Pulsing, Continuity, Flight

Vendor profitability analysis

Tool of statement applied to evaluate gross margin that was earned from a vendor’s merchandise by tracking down all annual sales from the previous year, including the retrace of all discounts, markups, transportation costs, etc.

Bivariate analysis

Quantitative analysis, comparing the relation between two variables that are often expressed with x/ y. The measurements of these variables under such research could be per category/ nominal terms, also intervals/ ratio… ordinal variables, others. If one of the variables is a subsequence to the other, their relation is determined by some extend of correlation and the subsequent is a dependant variable, while its cause is an independent variable.

Value mapping

Specific analysis that focuses on the key stakeholders (the customers and the suppliers) of a business, conducted to deliver insights about strengthening of the relationships with their parties and optimizing all the costs involved. It draws up the way  to adding extra value where it would be most beneficial for the company and relevant to the market.

Marketing Opportunity Analysis (MOA)

In-depth study of existing and potential opportunities on the market, focusing on competition, demand trends and peculiarities of market segments.

Retention rate metrics

In the context of marketing, Retention rate metrics are applied to index and monitor companies’ recent abilities to acquire and keep their own customers. This term is appropriate in contractual situations in which clients/ patients/ employees/ etc. decide to stay on while the period stated in the agreements runs up. In situations that are not under contract, like in purchases, catalogue sales, etc., the term “Current customers” is more appropriate instead. Retention rate is the ratio between the number of customers that choose to go on their contractual terms with a company and those whose obligations expire in the overall perspective. It could also be referred to as “Plowback ratio”.

Research and development (R&D)

Specific type of activities within a company that vary from one business sector to another. Their core models are mainly referring either to bringing new products, or gathering new knowledge. R&D is crucial in the marketing field as modern customers are being watched closely in order to analyze their needs and place the right offer so that businesses advance with sales upfront of their market competition.

Conclusive research

The kind of research that is designed to validate alternative options and support the decision-making through the right course of action. Its samples are typically larger than the formats of exploratory research.

 see also: Exploratory research

Exploratory research

The kind of research focused to explore on primary issues in order to broaden in depth further studies. Its purpose generally is to determine specific objectives and needs.
see also: Conclusive research

Concomitant variation

Relationship between two or more variables where their values are dependent of one another. Cause-and-effect is one example of such variation.

Eye-tracking studies

Newest studies using technologies to track movements of the eye of humans during reading web pages in order to understand specific patterns.

Task analysis

The process of pointing out all major tasks that should be accomplished for a project and distributing these steps identified into separate jobs among the team or during time period.

Marginal analysis

Also referred to as incremental analysis, it is considering a business decision by comparison of incremental (extra) benefits with incremental (extra) cost. For instance, a hair saloon owner who considers to prolong the working hours in his establishment from 8 to 10 hours per day in a crowded place. Marginal analysis before such a decision will help provide and balance in advance extra earnings to be generated with extra costs, such as additional labour and electricity, etc.

Membership group

In the context of consumer behaviour, it refers to a group to which a person either belongs for qualifies for membership. It is a type of reference group.

Two-group discriminant analysis

It is one of the techniques of discriminant analysis. In two-group discriminant analysis, the criterion variable or dependent has two categories and is closely related to multiple regression analysis.

Standard error of estimate

One of the statistics associated with bivariate regression analysis. This statistic, SEE is the standard deviation of the actual Y values from the predicted (Y cap) values.

Competitive tracking

A measure of tracking performance. Here both expectations and perceptions of consumers are plotted and the gap between them shows the service quality shortfall. When this is compared, with competitor’s service performance it is called competitive tracking. This allows a company to have a better grasp of service improvement priorities by comparing its own service strengths and weaknesses against those of key competitors.

Communality

One of the techniques in factor analysis. It refers to the quantity resulting from a factor analysis that expresses the proportion of the variance of a variable extracted by m factors, where m can vary from one to the total number of variables; the communalities help determine how many factors should be retained in a solution.

Stepwise discriminant analysis

One of the types of discriminant analysis in which the predictors are entered sequentially based on their ability to discriminate between the groups. This method is appropriate when the researcher wants to select a subset of the predictors for inclusion in the discriminant function.